


Anything to Make You Smile

by imperfectForger



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-02
Updated: 2013-05-01
Packaged: 2017-11-06 13:54:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/419645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imperfectForger/pseuds/imperfectForger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was finally going to see John. And he was sort of freaking out about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He was finally going to see John. 

It was finally going to happen. Outside of the Game, anyway.

And he was sort of

maybe

just a little bit

freaking out about it. 

Of course, he wasn't going to show any sign of it. 

Well, not to John. Rose, however, was a slightly different matter. 

He didn't actually _mean_ to tell her about his anxieties, but she kind of....wormed it out of him, in that way she has. With her reverse psychology, or whatever. Not only had she managed to get him to confess to being nervous about his first offical meeting with John, but she also got him to spill his closely-guarded secret of having a crush on his best friend.

Oh yeah, that was a thing. He'd been harbouring a seriously embarrassing crush on his best bro for probably years. And had managed to keep it a secret until his ectosister pounced on him in his weakened state. She had a nose for that, he swore it.

In any case, the plane was leaving tomorrow morning, and it was one thirty-four, and he had yet to fall asleep. Oh well, he didn't really want to be fully present in mind for the plane ride anyway. 

He laid back, and stared at the ceiling, willing sleep to come. 

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning dawned, with Dave having had around three hours of sleep. And the hours he did get could barely be considered restful. 

You could say he wasn't in the best of moods. 

Having already packed far too early, Dave was left with nothing to do until it was time to leave, other than checking his luggage again. After he did that twice though, Bro told him to chill the fuck out, so now he was sitting on the couch, bouncing his leg. 

Finally, Bro told him it was time to go. Perhaps taking pity on Dave's already frazzled state of mind, he even helped Dave carry his suitcase out. 

The ride to the airport seemed to take ages, and even with the windows rolled down, the car was sweltering. Dave stared out the window the entire time, his mind going through every possible thing that could go wrong. 

When they pulled up at the airport, Bro walked in with him, pointed in some direction, and said "That's where you go, little man." And then he was gone. Of course. Dave didn't even see where he had pointed to. He sighs, and does the obnoxious ordeal of checking his luggage and going through security. The looks he gets going through bag check make him think Bro snuck a smuppet in his suitcase after all. But he gets past that, and grabs out his ticket. His plane still doesn't leave for some time, so he takes a seat close to his terminal. Or, what he hoped was his terminal. He wasn't going to ask for help from any of the overeager-looking staff, that was for sure. After a few moments of doing nothing except watching people, Dave digs out his iPod and turns up the volume. He almost misses the voice telling him his flight is boarding, but it just happened to come as he was flipping through songs. 

Gathering his stuff up once more, he makes his way to his gate, and then he's on the plane, stuck between the window and some professional-looking dude. Dave can't imagine what business would require him to fly from Texas to Washington, but he decides he doesn't really care. He grudgingly takes out his headphones and turns off his ipod and phone. He guessed they were going to ask him--well, everybody--to do it soon anyway. 

And sure enough, a voice comes over the speaker, telling them to do just that. The voice also warned them that they were preparing for takeoff. 

The plane started to rumble, and Dave grips the armrests tightly. Why anybody ever thought that something big and metal and full of people belonged in the air would always be beyond him. Once the plane was in the air, and the voice told him it was alright to turn his iPod back on, he did so without hesitation. He turned the volume up, and tried to not look out the window. 

After a little more than four hours--he had chosen the shortest possible flight, of course--the announcement came that the plane was landing. Dave was glad to finally be off the flying deathtrap, and got off as soon as he could. Right away, he started to search through the crowd for John and his dad. 

Before he spotted them, he felt somebody barreling into him from behind, arms wrapping around his stomach. His heart did a weird flip-flop thing, and he turned around to see John. John backed up, but took ahold of his hand, grinning at him.

"Hey, Dave!" John said cheerfully. Dave couldn't help but smile in response, answering with a simple "Hey."

Looking around, Dave saw that John's dad was standing just to the side, holding a sign that read DAVE STRIDER!!!, and smiling slightly. Dave cleared his throat and offered a hand to Mr. Egbert. 

"Hello, uh, Mr. Egbert." He grabbed Dave's hand, but then pulled him into a hug, John still holding his other hand. Dave froze, and Mr. Egbert laughed, and then released him. 

"Please, call me Michael. After all I've heard about you, you're practically family." Dave's face heated up, and he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. 

"Now then, how about we head out of here?" Mr. Egbert--he couldn't quite get used to calling him Michael yet--grabbed one of his suitcases, and started walking. Dave grabbed the other, and followed him. His stomach fluttered as he realised John was still gripping his hand, and he tried to tell himself to stop reacting like a chick. So what if the guy he had had a crush on for years was holding his hand, and this was the first time he had ever actually seen him. That didn't matter. 

"Hey, Dave? Is something wrong?" Dave had slowed down during his internal agrument, and John was peering over at him suspiciously. 

"No, uh. Everything's cool. Everything's fine, come on man, who do you think I am, a sissy?" He really had to get his cool under control. This was embarrassing. 

"Haha, okay, whatever, dude. Let's just get going." 

"Yeah," he agreed, and they sped up again, catching up with Mr. Egbert.


	3. Chapter 3

The car ride to John's house, which lasts around an hour, is one that should probably be filled with awkward silence, but John makes sure that doesn't happen. He talks Dave's ear off in the backseat--John insisted on sitting in the back so they could talk to each other easier--asking every question he possibly could about his flight, the airport, packing, what he wanted to do while he was here, each question following the other so quickly Dave didn't even get the chance to reply. 

Dave didn't really mind though. He was mostly content just listening to John ramble on, and occasionally attempt to answer something before being cut off. Eventually, John drifted from asking questions to telling him things that he already knew because John had told him online. But Dave didn't bother reminding him that they had literally just talked yesterday, and so he knew all of these things. 

Before either of them realised, they were at John's house. John and his dad insisted on carrying all of Dave's things, even after he repeatedly reminded them that he was perfectly capable of carrying his own things, thank you very much, did they think he was weak or something?, and being reassured by Mr. Egbert that no, they didn't think he was weak, they were simply being polite. Dave supposed he couldn't deny them that. 

When they get inside, it's wide-open and airy, and pretty much just like he pictured. It suited the father-son pair, Dave thought. 

John let him look around for a little while, before walking in front of him, beckoning as he started to drag Dave's suitcase up the stairs. 

"Come on, Dave, my room's up here!" Dave chuckled, before grabbing the other end of the suitcase, to make John's trip a little easier. 

John's room was a decent size, and, as expected, the walls were covered in posters. His bed was against one wall, and when he saw it, John cursed. 

"Shit, sorry, dude! I don't have another bed or anything. You can have my bed, I'll sleep on the floor? Is that alright?" 

"John, no, I'm not taking your bed. I can sleep on the floor." 

"You are a guest here! I'm not just going to let you sleep on the floor!" Dave noticed that when he got excited about something, John started to talk with his hands. It was cute. "Wait! I've got it! We can share the bed! That way neither of us have to sleep on the floor!" 

"Are you sure? I mean, you don't think it would be weird?" John's eyebrows knitted together slightly, and he regarded Dave with confusion. 

"What do you mean? Why would it be weird?" Dave felt his face heat up, and wondered if that question was too weird, as he had put it. 

"Nevermind, it's cool. We can share the bed." John leaned closer to him, narrowing his eyes and then snickering. 

"Dude, are you _blushing_?" 

"What? No, dude, you're seeing things. Must be the Strider presence affecting your ability to see."

"Nope, you're totally blushing." He then broke into full laughter, which, despite his best efforts, Dave was unable to resist joining in on. 

"In any case, I wasn't blushing. Striders don't blush."

"Yeah, whatever, Mr. Blushy McBlusherton." 

"...John that was probably the worst insult you've ever used. And that's saying something." 

"Yeah, I know." John laughed again, but then fell silent for a few minutes, before turning to Dave with an air of purpose. 

"Do you know what we have to do now?" Dave wondered if there was ever a time John didn't smile. Fuck, he probably even smiled in his sleep. 

"What?" Something told him he was going to regret asking. 

"We have to watch movies." 

"Aw, fuck, no."


	4. Chapter 4

"Aw fuck yes. We're going to do it. And you know what movie we're going to watch first?"

"Not fucking Ghostbusters. I am not putting up with that shit again."

"It's either Ghostbusters or Con Air. I might be willing to watch Little Monsters though, if you _really_ persuaded me."

"Fine. Ghostbusters, I guess. God, Egbert, you and your shitty movies will be the death of me, I swear." John just laughed, and Dave knows what he said was the truth. 

"Can we at least find something to eat before getting on with this shitty movie fest?" 

"Oh, yeah, of course! We can even eat while we watch the movies."

"Alright, cool. I just need some grub, and stat. Unless you want this fine piece of man-meat to die right in your bedroom."

"Of couuuuurse not, Dave. That would be a travesty that the world could simply not endure," he said, as he began to walk out of his room and down the stairs.

"Damn straight," Dave replied, following close behind. 

They grabbed some junk food from the kitchen, neither really feeling much like cooking anything, and headed to the living room. Outside, the sky was nearly dark. Dave hadn't realised it was already so late. 

They sat down, and Dave resigned himself to at least four hours of torture as he sat through these shitty movies. At least he'd have these horrible excuses for food to console him. And sitting next to John wasn't so bad either. 

Halfway into the second movie, after the "food" was gone, and it was around ten, John scooted over and fucking _snuggled_ up to him, fitting under his arm slung over the couch. 

"Woah, dude, what are you doing?" Dave looked at the top of John's head in horror, and was sure that, had John been looking, not even his shades could have hid his expression. 

"What? I'm cold. Why, do you want me to move? Am I make you _uncomfortable_?" And Dave couldn't see his face, but he could practically hear the eyebrow wiggle. He settled back, and forced himself to focus on the movie. They were watching Con Air now. Of course. 

"No, you're...you're fine." But Dave spent the rest of the movie thinking about the warm presence at his side. He tried not to, but eventually gave up. It was a welcome distraction from the movie, anyway. 

By the beginning of the next movie (John had held up to his promise, and they were now watching Little Monsters), and after much anguishing, Dave had made up his mind to say something to John. He was going to do it. 

"So, John," he started, hoping he didn't sound as hesitant and completely lame as he was afraid he did.

"Yeah?" He twisted his head up to look at Dave, and Dave gulped. 

"Are you still like, fully not a homosexual?" He tried to play it off like a joke, and laughed in what he hoped didn't tip John off to how nervous he was right now. He knew how dumb he sounded, though, and internally groaned. 

"What brought this on?" he asked, and he laughed, and Dave thinks that maybe he managed to play it cool, and he wasn't awkward at all. 

"I dunno, I mean, you used to be pretty preachy about that before. Like, with Karkat." 

"Hmm, yeah!" There was a pause, and Dave panicked a little that maybe he was just as transparent as he originally thought. Then John spoke again. 

"I haven't really thought about it! I mean, I guess it kind of just depends on the person for me now, you know? Gender doesn't seem so important after you've died multiple times and saved the world, you know?" Dave feels him shrug against him. 

"Yeah, I know what you mean." That was all Dave trusted himself to say, right now, but inside he was thinking that maybe, possibly, if the fates smiled on him, he might actually have a chance with John after all. 

The rest of the movie passed with idle chit-chat, but by the end, John is asleep, and Dave, reluctant to wake him, dozes off too. 

The next day he started putting his plan into action. 

It was called "Operation: Ask John Out". 

And it was going to be a total success. 

(He hoped.)


	5. Chapter 5

He thinks for ages on the best way to go about doing this. 

He could just ask him -- but that thought made him even more nervous. 

He figured he'd have to do something else. 

It was when they were watching yet another movie -- John didn't seem to have much else to do, really, aside from maybe playing video games, which they did -- that Dave thought of something. Mostly because he had seen something similar in the movie they were watching -- one that Karkat had recommended, though they were watching the human version. But still.

He was going to write a song for John. 

It was incredibly dumb and way too mushy but maybe John would like that.

He hoped John would like that, anyway.

He spends the next few days working on it when he could, in secret. Which wasn't really all that often. It usually ended up involving Dave waiting until John had fallen asleep, and then getting up and writing. But finally, it was ready. He thought. 

While they were sitting on the couch, watching another dumb movie, Dave got up without a word, and walked back to John's bedroom. He grabbed his guitar, and walked back to the living room, standing off to the side until John noticed him.

"Dave? Wha--??" Ignoring him, Dave started singing. He knew that if he concentrated on anything other than singing, he would lose his nerve. 

He finished his song, his eyes closed, and his voice shaking only slightly on the last note. And he opened his eyes, and he saw John smiling his huge, dumb smile. And he smiled too, a little nervously. But after a few moments of John's silence, Dave started to feel a little panicky. 

"Well?" Dave finally demanded, hoping his voice didn't sound as desperate as he feared it might. 

"Of course I'll go on a date with you, you dumbass." 

"Okay, uh, cool," Dave said, breathing a sigh of relief, before snapping back to attention and looking at John suspiciously. "Wait, why am I the dumbass?"

"Well... I've kind of been waiting for you to ask for a while. But, obviously you were a little slow on the uptake," John said, snickering. 

"What." Dave did nothing except stare blankly at John. 

"You were kind of obvious, dude. Even my _dad_ could tell how gay you were for me. He kept asking me if we were dating yet, and warning me to 'use protection'," John said, laughing again. Dave questioned how he even liked this kid. 

"You--. What--. How long have you known?" John smiled impishly, and Dave seriously wondered how he even _dealt_ with him at all. 

"I've had my suspicions for a while. I'm a master investigator, after all! But I _for sure_ knew when you got here."

"And you've... liked me back this entire time?" John nodded. "And you still made me suffer through this?"

"Come on, you gotta admit, it was pretty funny."

"I swear to god, Egbert, if you're 'pranking' me right now--"

"I'm not! I promise!" They were silent for a few moments, before John got up, and went to stand next to Dave, quietly slipping his hand into Dave's. Dave looked down at their hands, and tightened his grasp. 

"Okay, maybe I was a little nervous to say anything," John admitted quietly. Dave smiled at him, glad that he wasn't the only nervous one here. There were a few more moments of silence, before Dave broke it. 

"So, uh, can I kiss you now?" he blurted. John looked at him in surprise, and Dave began mentally berating himself for being so _stupid_. They had only just started dating -- and were they even actually dating? For all Dave's talk about being a hit with the ladies, he didn't actually have much experience to work with. But then John smiled at him.

"Yeah, definitely." Dave laughed at little, but then grew serious. He closed his eyes, and leaned towards john. 

_Bump._

They had hit noses. It kind of hurt, but Dave tried to shake it off. 

"Maybe we both shouldn't have closed our eyes, huh?" John said, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. Dave cuckled, and gave a quiet "Yeah," in reply. 

"Okay, let's... try that again," Dave said, determined to get it right this time. John nodded, and they leaned towards each other again. Dave made sure not to close his eyes fully until their lips met. 

Dave had never actually kissed anybody before. The closest he had come was Terezi licking his face back on the meteor. He was surprised at how soft John's lips were. He kept the pressure of his lips against John's mouth light -- was it too light? Was he doing this right? Was he moving his mouth too much? Or not enough? He'd never imagined that kissing would be so stressful. He felt John smile against his mouth, and he groaned internally, sure that he had done something dumb. But John just pressed a little more insistently, and they fell into a kind of rhythm -- with far less clacking teeth than before, though still a little awkward and exploratory. But then John pulled away, and they were both smiling like a couple of dorks. 

"You still owe me a real date, dumbass," John said, and punched Dave on the arm. And just that like, things were normal again. But they still had their hands clasped between them. And that was a perfectly okay change to them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the end!! it was originally meant to be longer but. i think i like it ending here. UvU


End file.
